Lansing, Michigan: Crowne Plaza Lansing West

February 2021, weekday, 1 night, king corner guestroom #436

We have stayed in this hotel a few times before this stay, and I have previously posted hotel info in this blog. You can find my most recent post with more photos here. This is a brief post with just a few bits of additional information, since this was our first stay during COVID-19.

Reservation, arrival, platinum perks

I booked the IHG member rate with breakfast. I made our reservation over the telephone with the hotel directly, because when I looked online, deluxe rooms were available; however, there were no corner rooms for any night that I chose (we had been considering and searching several different dates). The agent was able to make us a reservation for a corner guestroom when I called. There are only a couple of corner guestrooms in this hotel, and portions of the hotel were shutdown to conserve energy due to the decreased business caused by the pandemic.

I received an email for mobile check-in the day before our arrival; however, I received an error message when I tried to complete mobile check-in. Checking in at the front desk when we arrived was friendly and efficient, so this did not present a problem for us. During check-in, we received a couple of chocolate hearts and a small package of Brach's candy, as our stay was an early Valentine's Day getaway. Hand sanitizer was available throughout the hotel, and plexiglass barriers were installed at the front desk. The platinum bonus points posted to my account immediately after check-in.

Guestroom 436

This one of our favorite guestrooms in this hotel. I did not take any photos of the room this stay, as the guestroom was mostly the same as last time we had stayed in it. You can follow this link to see photos from our stay in 2016. 

The bedding has been updated since those photos were taken, and there was a new flat iPhone charger next to the bed. The guestroom layout was the same.

Delicious Bloody Mary at Bordeaux restaurant 
inside Crowne Plaza Lansing West!

Lansing, Michigan / Crowne Plaza Lansing West

January and February 2017, 2 separate nights - weekday and weekend, King deluxe room #547 and King corner room #416

Our stay at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West was just as impressive this trip as it had been November 2016. The hotel is very clean and well maintained, and the staff is excellent. There was a minor snag with my first night's stay, and staff members went above and beyond to make this right. I had two separate stays here, which I am combining into this one post. We stayed on a weekday, and then on the weekend a week later. I used points for both nights.

View from the 4th floor

Platinum perks and check-in

I received the Platinum on-site amenity choice for both stays: bottled water, beverage in the lounge, or bonus points. I always choose the points, since I tend to use my points so frequently. I had reserved a corner guestroom for my first night, and a deluxe room for my second stay. I would have reserved a corner room for both nights, except a corner room was not showing as available for the second stay when I made the reservation online. When I checked in for the first night [corner guestroom, weekday], the front desk agent had difficulty finding me a corner room. She said there had been one set aside for me, although it was showing that it had not been cleaned, even though we were not checking in early. I waited a few moments while she called someone to confirm whether the room had been cleaned or not. She then told me deluxe rooms were available, and I said that would be fine. She assigned us a guestroom on the top floor, and said she would request a corner guestroom for us when we returned.

When I checked in for the second stay, we received a corner guestroom on the 4th floor. The employee apologized for the fact that I had not received this type of guestroom the week earlier, and she said there was an amenity in the guestroom fridge for me.

Travel between Lansing, Michigan and Cancun, Mexico via MiamiAir booked through Apple Vacations (destination Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an in Riviera Maya )

January - February 2017

This post could easily become extremely long. I have condensed the information somewhat to focus on the main points. If you have any questions, or would like more details, just ask!

Although our travel experiences include over 15 resort stays in Mexico and the Caribbean (some before I started this blog), this was our first experience with Apple Vacations and MiamiAir. You can find separate posts in this blog for Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an and our excursions.

Booking through Apple Vacations with MiamiAir charter flight

We booked our vacation over the telephone with an Apple representative, since we had not booked with them before, and I had a few questions. If you want to have access to your Apple Vacations booking online, I suggest booking online instead. I found out afterward that you can access your Apple Vacations booking online, if you book online; however, you cannot access your itinerary and such for reservations that have been booked over the telephone.

We booked this trip at the last minute because we happened upon an amazing price--$839 each for 7 nights, including air. We then paid an additional $78 each to upgrade our airline seats to Preferred Perks Plus roundtrip, which is similar to first class. The airline upgrade said it included the following per person each way: fresh meal/snack box, two standard alcoholic drinks (21yrs.), and preferred check-in, security, boarding and seating. Without Preferred Perks Plus, there is a fee to select seats, and another fee to check bags ($40 roundtrip per bag when purchased through Apple beforehand--$50 at the airport).

The telephone number provided in our travel documents to check flight status before heading to the airport was incorrect. The telephone number Apple Vacations provided was for Norwegian Air. The telephone number on the MiamiAir website to check flight status is: (305) 871-8001.

Miami Air in Lansing, Michigan

Departure from Lansing, Michigan via Miami Air 

The MiamiAir website provided the following information for check-in: Ticket counters will open 3 hours prior to departure. Check in locations are as follows: Lansing, Michigan Capital Region International Airport (LAN) – Main Terminal, check-in counters located at Door 2. I also found this news story about the Apple Vacations/MiamiAir/Lansing Airport relationship.

Lansing, Michigan / Crowne Plaza Lansing West

November 2016, Weekday, 1-night, King corner guestroom 436

This was our first stay at the Crowne Plaza in Lansing, Michigan. In fact, I did not recall knowing this hotel is not too far from the Lansing airport the last time we had stayed in a Lansing airport hotel. I will definitely choose this hotel again the next time I have a Lansing flight, or need to stay in the area.

Platinum perks and check-in

We arrived a bit before check-in time of 3:00 p.m. The employee who completed the check-in process provided excellent assistance, and she went out of her way to meet our needs. I needed a ride to the airport around 5:00 a.m., and the hotel shuttle does not normally operate that early. She checked the schedule to see if there was an airline crew scheduled for the next morning, and was able to schedule a ride time for me that met both our needs. We received an upgrade to a king corner room (I requested this), and the 600 bonus points for Platinum members.

View of desk from entrance area

View from entrance

King corner guestroom 436

This guestroom contained a king size bed, night stands, desk and chair, soft chair with footstool, and a large flatscreen TV on an armoire. A small fridge, microwave, ice bucket, glass glasses, coffee mugs, and coffeemaker with supplies, were located in the armoire. The bed was super comfy, and the sheets were good quality.

A large vanity and a closet with mirrored doors were located left of the armoire. The closet contained two robes, along with hangers, and a folding luggage rack. Bath amenities were provided on the vanity. The towels were good quality. The toilet and tub/shower combination were located in a small room at the end of the vanity.